Childhood apraxia of speech

Diagnosis

A speech–language pathologist evaluates your child’s medical history and symptoms in order to assess your child’s condition. In addition, the speech–language pathologist examines your child’s ability to generate words, sounds, and phrases as well as the speech–language muscles.

The speech–language pathologist for your kid may also evaluate their language abilities, such as their vocabulary, sentence construction, and speech comprehension.

A single test or observation is not sufficient to make the diagnosis of CAS. Based on the observed pattern of issues, a diagnosis is formed. The particular tests used during the assessment are determined by the age, cooperativeness, and severity of the speech issue in your child.

When a kid speaks very little or struggles to communicate with the speech–language pathologist, it might be difficult to diagnose CAS.

Still, since CAS is treated differently from other speech problems, it’s critical to determine whether your child exhibits CAS symptoms. Even if the diagnosis is uncertain at first, your child’s speech–language pathologist might be able to advise you on the best course of action for your kid.

Tests could consist of:

• Hearing tests. To ascertain whether hearing issues could be a factor in your child’s speech issues, your doctor might prescribe hearing tests.
• Oral–motor assessment. The speech–language pathologist for your child will examine the lips, tongue, palate, and jaw to check for any structural issues, like cleft palates or tongue tie. In addition, the speech–language pathologist will search for additional issues like low muscle tone. Although low muscle tone is typically not linked to CAS, it can indicate other medical issues.

When your child blows, smiles, or kisses, the speech–language pathologist will observe how your child moves his or her lips, tongue, and jaw.

• Speech evaluation. It is possible to watch your child’s sound, word, and phrase production while they play or engage in other activities.

You might ask your child to name some pictures. This enables the speech–language pathologist to determine whether your child struggles with pronouncing certain words or syllables or creating particular sounds.

The speech–language pathologist for your child may also assess the coherence and fluidity of their speech movements. Your toddler might be asked to recite words like “buttercup” or repeat syllables like “pa–ta–ka.”

When your kid is able to form sentences, the speech–language pathologist listens to the rhythm and melody of their speech. You can tell melody and rhythm from the way your toddler emphasizes words and syllables.

A speech–language pathologist for your child could assist them by giving clues, such speaking a word or sound more slowly or applying touch cues to their face.

The speech–language pathologist can confirm the diagnosis of CAS with the assistance of a speech therapy trial to watch how your kid responds to CAS treatment.

Treatment

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a condition that children do not typically outgrow, but speech therapy can significantly aid in their improvement. Speech–language pathologists have a range of treatment options available for individuals with CAS.

Speech therapy

The speech–language pathologist working with your child typically emphasizes practice with words, phrases, and syllables as the central focus of therapy.

The frequency of your child’s speech therapy sessions may vary, ranging from three to five times a week, depending on the severity of their speech issues. As your child progresses, the frequency of these weekly sessions may be reduced.

Individual therapy is often highly beneficial for children with CAS. Through one–on–one therapy, your child can engage in more extensive speech practice during each session.

It is essential that children with CAS consistently practice pronouncing words and phrases throughout each speech therapy session. Learning the correct way to say words and phrases requires dedicated practice and patience. 

Speech therapy frequently concentrates your child’s attention on the sound and feel of speech motions since children with CAS sometimes struggle with speech movements planning. In speech treatment, speech–language pathologists may employ a variety of cues. For instance, the speech–language pathologist for your child might ask them to pay close attention. Additionally, your child can be asked to watch the speech–language pathologist construct the word or phrase with their mouth.

The speech–language pathologist for your child might also make facial gestures in response to specific sounds or words. A speech–language pathologist, for instance, could assist your child with rounding their lips to say “oo.”

It has not been demonstrated that a single speech treatment strategy is the most successful in treating CAS. However, the following are some crucial tenets of speech therapy for CAS:

• Speech drills. During a therapy session, your child’s speech–language pathologist could urge them to repeat words or phrases multiple times.
• Sound and movement exercises. It’s possible that your child will be asked to watch the speech–language pathologist’s mouth while the professional speaks a word or phrase in addition to listening to them. Your child can see the mouth movements associated with the sounds by observing the speech–language pathologist’s mouth.
• Vowel practice. Vowel sounds are often distorted in children with CAS. Your child’s speech–language pathologist might select words for them to practice that have vowels in various syllable forms. Your toddler might be asked to say things like “hi,” “mine,” and “bite.” Or they might ask your child to say “down,” “out,” and “house.”
• Speaking practice. Instead of practicing individual sounds, your youngster will probably rehearse syllables, words, or phrases. Children diagnosed with CAS require experience transitioning between sounds.
• Progressive learning approach. Depending on the extent of your child’s speech disorder, the speech–language pathologist may initially employ a limited set of practice words. The quantity of words for practice is expected to expand gradually as your child’s skills improve.